Friday, February 27, 2009

Beat all thoroughly in mixer. (Or, do it by hand! I think that was the secret to my best batch ever -- light as air.)

Let dough rise, covered, in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, divide the dough in 2 portions. Roll each portion into a circle and cut into 16 pie-shaped pieces. Brush with melted butter. Roll each piece up, from the large edge to the small edge, and place on a buttered baking sheet.

Brush tops of rolls with melted butter. Cover with a dish towel and let rise for 4-5 hours. (The rising time is not critical with these -- they can probably rise up to 6 hours.) Bake for 15-20 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

In a large bowl, combine hot water, salt, sugar, and shortening and stir. Add 2 c. flour and stir well. Add proofed yeast and stir. Add 4 c. flour and stir well. It should form sort of a "shaggy" dough:

Set the timer for 10 minutes and then stir down the dough. (I took this to mean sort of punching down the dough with your spoon.) Repeat 4 more times (5 times total).

Grandma recommends putting out 5 objects and taking one away after each stir-down, so you don't forget how many times you've done it. I used magnets. Of course, you have to take one away each time or this strategy is useless!

After the 5th time, turn the dough out on a well-floured board and cut in 2 equal portions.

Roll each half into an elongated rectangle. Place both halves, side by side, on a large cookie sheet covered in cornmeal. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slash each loaf 3 times with a sharp knife and brush on an egg/water glaze, if desired. (You may also sprinkle sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or salt crystals on top of loaves at this point.)

Saturday, February 21, 2009

I tried this recipe this week when I was pressed for time and didn't want to go grocery shopping (I didn't have fresh basil so I used a little dried, and I just used dumb parmesan cheese in a can). The sauce is very bright and flavorful and it really was super-fast! Delicious, now part of our rotation.

Preparation

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until browned. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add wine, salt, pepper, and artichokes; simmer 5 minutes or until sauce is thickened and chicken is done. Remove from heat; stir in cheese and 1/3 cup basil. Place sauce and pasta in a large bowl; stir gently to combine. Garnish with chopped basil, if desired.

Shred cabbage and combine with onions, chicken, and ramen noodles, and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

For dressing, mix together rice vinegar, oil, and sugar in a blender/small food processor to emulsify. Add ramen seasoning and pepper. Add dressing, sesame seeds, and almonds to cabbage mixture just before serving.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter a 10" diameter circle in the center of a baking sheet.

Stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Cut the butter into 1/2" cubes and cut in with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, stir together the egg, molasses, milk and vanilla. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine. The dough will be sticky.

With lightly floured hands, pat the dough into an 8" circle in the center of the prepared baking sheet. With a serrated knife, cut into 8 wedges. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove baking sheet to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes. Transfer scones with a spatula to the wire rack to cool. Recut into wedges, if necessary.

Stir together the butter, maple syrup, and maple extract, if desired, until combined. Serve the butter immediately or cover and refrigerate. To serve, let stand for 15 minutes at room temperature to soften.

Stir together the flour, sugar, poppy seeds, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Cut the butter into 1/2" cubes and cut in with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, stir together the juice, egg, and orange zest. Add the juice mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine. The dough will be sticky.

With lightly floured hands, pat the dough into a 9" diameter circle in the center of prepared baking sheet. If desired, brush the egg mixture over the top of the dough. With a serrated knife, cut into 8 wedges. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of scone comes out clean.

Remove the baking sheet to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes. Using a spatula, transfer the scones to the wire rack to cool. Recut into wedges, if necessary. Serve warm, or cool completely and store in an airtight container.

In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, whisk together the eggs and yolks to combine. Whisk in the sugar, lemon juice, orange juice, lemon peel, orange peel, and salt. Cut the butter into 1/2" cubes and add to the saucepan. Stirring constantly, cook the mixture just until it comes to a boil and thickens. Do not overcook as it will curdle.

Pour the mixture into a heatproof glass container. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Years ago, Marc bought me a little cookbook called Simply Scones that has provided lovely fare for many a tea party and shower. These are traditional English scones and they are delicious and easy to make!

Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into 1/2" cubes and distribute them over the flour mixture. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, stir together the cream, egg, and vanilla. Add the cream mixture to the flour mixture and knead until combined. Knead in the white chocolate, walnuts, and apricots.

Pat the dough into a 9" circle in the center of an ungreased baking sheet. With a serrated knife, cut circle into 8 wedges. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned.

Remove the baking sheet to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes. Using a spatula, transfer the scones to the wire rack to cool. Recut into wedges, if necessary. Serve warm, or cool completely and store in an airtight container.

For the ultimate decadence, serve with whipped cream and lemon or citrus curd.

Create the crumb crust/topping by spreading the nuts in a pan. Roast at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove to a cloth towel, rub off and discard skins. Grind the nuts finely in a food processor for 10 seconds.

Mix the nuts, flour and 1/2 c. sugar in a large bowl and then cut in the butter until coarse crumbs form. Press 1/2 of the mixture by hand into the bottom and sides of a 8-9" tart pan (or pie plate).

In a separate bowl, mix 1/2 c. sugar and cornstarch and then fold in the berries. Spoon berry mixture onto the crumb crust. Use the remaining half crumb mix to sprinkle over the berry mixture.

Bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes or until topping is golden and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.